Nicholas+Capernicus

Hello, I’m the nephew of Nicolaus Copernicus and now I’m going to tell you about Nicolaus... Nick was born on the 19 of Feb 1473 in the town of Torun in Poland. He was the first to think that everything doesn't revolve around earth and that it isn't in the middle of the universe. Nicholaus's father was a merchant and his mother was the daughter of a wealthy Torun merchant. Nicolaus was the youngest of four- my father was the oldest. My father has always said how proud we should be of him, but many people do not seem to feel the same way... When he was ten, my Great Uncle, Nicolaus' dad, died. Nicolaus was then sent to his uncle, a bishop, to be educated. Nicolaus then went to study mathematics and astronomy at Cracow. After the course, he went to Italy to study medicine and law. By 1503, he had his Church Law doctorate. By this time, his interest turned to geography and astronomy, and he began to study the writings of Ptolemy.

From 1507 to 1517, my uncle wrote down his theory and belief- he claimed that the sun was the centre of the universe, not the earth, and that the planets moved around the sun in circular orbits. He also discovered that the earth rotated once per day, and it took the earth a year to rotate around the sun. Nick then returned to Poland to his uncle, the bishop, who was now appointed the Bishop of Ermland. Nick was appointed to be his uncle’s personal physicist and secretary. Then, in 1512, to my dear uncle’s grief, the Bishop passed away. Nicolaus then became the capitular of the cathedral in Frombork. This was there Nicolaus began writing his work, “De Revolutionibus Orbuim Coelestium” (“On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres”). He completed this work in 1530.

After he finished “De Revolutionibus Orbuim Coelestium”, Nicolaus turned his attention to mathematics, especially trigonometry. He also continued his theories on the heavenly planets. Sadly, Nicolaus Copernicus from Torun, Poland, passed away on the 24th May, 1543 at the age of 70 in Frombork.

When I visited his house in Frombork, I was looking through all his notes and theories when I found his draft of “De Revolutionibus Orbuim Coelestium”. I immediately took it to a publisher and had it published.

Nicolaus’ theories changed the way we look at the universe- he revolutionised the way we look at the heavenly bodies. He went against the teachings of the church by bravely publishing his book. His theory was accepted by the 17th century.

I am Charles Sebba Copernicus, the nephew of Nicolaus Copernicus, and that is my uncle’s story…